3 Idiots vs Nanban

Confessions first – I didn’t like either movie a lot really. Agreed – they conveyed a good message, had hilarious portions and were decent enough to watch with family. But then, no denying they had their share of stupid parts as well. I watched 3 idiots at the time it was released and now Nanban.

Everyone knows the story – it is about a superhero who can get 400 patents in 5 years (thankfully, Shankar has changed it to 10!!), can help deliver a baby over the internet on a TT table, can come first in all exams, can bring to life a comatose person by telling jokes, can change his friend’s attitudes to pursue their heart’s desire overriding Indian parental pressure and can revive a still born baby by saying “All Is Well”! Doctors should learn from him!! As an insignificant matter, he didn’t study for a degree; he played proxy and put his efforts for another person in a well-known engineering college!

If anyone tells you that 3 Idiots/ Nanban is an ordinary/ sensible movie, laugh at them!

Now for the comparison. Each had their own positive and negative points. Technically, the Tamil version was far superior. The camera angles and graphics were cool. The Hindi version was ordinary in that sphere. Honestly, what chance did Hirani have when compared to Shankar? Music and BGM were decent in both versions. Nanban scroes a shade more in that area due to the sheer fact that they didn’t duplicate the music of 3 idiots. Given the fact that it was a remake, the easiest option would have been to go in for the same tunes. However, they have opted for original tracks and that is great. With Resul Pookutty and Harris at the helm, the songs as well as BGM is surely a notch above 3 idiots.

Performance wise, 3 idiots is better. I felt that the Nanban crew lacked spontaneity. The positives for Nanban are Vijay, Srikanth and Jiiva. They have done really well and had been original in places where they have to be. They have also done imitations where it needs to be done. Vijay looked more like a college student than Aamir Khan did. Needless to say, he has danced much better. Sathyaraj was a great disappointment for me – he just couldn’t pull off Virus. He has imitated Boman Irani and has failed miserably. He is an original actor and Shankar could have given him a free rein. Sathyan was very average; he couldn’t manage one tenth of Omi’s performance. The guy who acted as Ileana’s fiancé has overdone his role.

The worst of all was Ileana. Shankar could have chosen anyone, anyone in this world and why he had to choose Ileana!! My god, she couldn’t act and whoever did her dubbing has done pretty badly. I felt like slapping her whenever she started to speak. Only the scene where she was drunk was good. Pesaama avala thanni adikka veche full padam eduthurukkalaam. Enakku kovam vandha dhaan nalla Tamil pesa varum ndra maadhiri ivalukku thanni adichaa dhaan Tamil varudhu. Enna panna!

Humour was surely much better in Nanban. Right from the starting scene where Srikanth says in Telugu “thodai la pacha chesthaanu, choosthaava” (for Ramba Rao), till the end, the subtle humour was just too good. Classic Shankar! Shankar has made fun of himself when Ileana says “adhu ellam Shankar padam graphics la dhaan nadakkum”. When Vijay says “Time workout aahiduchu pola irukku” and when the professor says, “CM oda peranaa irundhaalum vaangikka maaten”, the political overtones are too hard to miss!